LHC nullifies delimitation of 3 NA, 7 PA constituencies

Dismisses petitions against delimitations of two constituencies; asks ECP to make changes

RAWALPINDI:

Announcing a major decision about the delimitations, the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) Rawalpindi Bench Judge Justice Mirza Waqas Rauf has declared the new delimitations of three national and seven provincial assembly constituencies of the Rawalpindi Division as invalid.

The court, however, dismissed the petitions challenging the delimitations of two constituencies and ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to immediately make necessary corrections in these delimitations by including the nearby areas.

Declaring the inclusion of remote areas in constituencies as illegal and unconstitutional, the court sent its decision to the ECP for the correctness of constituencies. Prospective candidates and citizens of the Rawalpindi, Chakwal and Talagang districts had challenged the constituencies.

Upholding the delimitations of the two provincial assembly seats of PP-8 and PP-9 of Gujjar Khan and its suburbs, the LHC dismissed the citizens’ petitions challenging these delimitations, while the PA seats of PP-12 and PP-13 of Taxila and Wah Cantt, PP-18 of Rawalpindi city and PP-20, PP-21, PP-22 and PP-23 of District Chakwal and Talagang were declared illegal.

Petitioners Sarfaraz Jahangir and Waheed Mehmood had challenged PP-8 and PP-9 while other petitioners Faisal Bilal, Riaz and Mahmood contended that the ECP and the Revenue Department had deliberately drawn the wrong constituencies.

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“The area of a constituency has been connected to the area of another constituency.

The delimitations have never been drawn in such a manner in the last 76 years. The constituencies for the general elections in 2018 were based on merit,” the petitioners argued.

They alleged that areas as far as 10 kilometres away were merged into each other under some hidden agenda. “The maps were presented to the ECP and it was asked how such delimitations were possible,” the petitioners told the court, adding the ECP’s response was: “It has been done now, let it be. It will be corrected in the next elections.”

They said the fresh delimitations appeared to be a systematic conspiracy of rigging in which the administration was also allegedly involved.

“We don’t mind moving the constituencies. But it is our constitutional, legal and principled position that the areas included in the constituencies should be adjacent to each other,” they said and added that it would also make it easier for the voters and the candidates would also be able to campaign properly.

Earlier, the judges were also surprised by the presentation of the maps and after hearing the arguments declared the new delimitation of seven provincial constituencies invalid.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th, 2023.